Nebraska Fish and Game Association - View Single Post

Aquaman · 03-19-2008, 07:06 AM

Wow! You guys took a big hit. That's really sad, but it opens up new opportunities.

I had a pond a couple of years back that I stocked with about 100 bluegill that I had that were extras. I just wanted it to be possibly a kids fishing pond the next year. When the ice came off I saw two dead fish. We ran a seine about a month later (this pond was just 1/14 of an acre at the time) and found ZERO remaining fish. The rest had decomposed after dropping to the bottom.

It's very possible that you've had a catastrophic event with the bluegill even though you're not seeing fish at this time. It may be that you're just seeing largemouth because their body mass led them to be floaters.

Actually you may be better off if you lost a lot of the bluegill. They'll recover quickly.

The fish you're seeing is certainly consistant with your initial observation of this being a "stunted bluegill pond". The bass that were dominating, like those twenty-inchers were feasting all the time, and the bluegill were probably present in the tens of thousands as smaller individuals. In my opinion, not a very good setup for overall fishing success. You'll be able to do it better!

03-19-2008, 07:06 AM	#34 (permalink)
Aquaman Aquaman is hoping to someday live on the water's edge. 2008 Catch & Continue Runner Up Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Midwest U.S. Posts: 1,207 Thanks: 328 Thanked 414 Times in 117 Posts	Wow! You guys took a big hit. That's really sad, but it opens up new opportunities. I had a pond a couple of years back that I stocked with about 100 bluegill that I had that were extras. I just wanted it to be possibly a kids fishing pond the next year. When the ice came off I saw two dead fish. We ran a seine about a month later (this pond was just 1/14 of an acre at the time) and found ZERO remaining fish. The rest had decomposed after dropping to the bottom. It's very possible that you've had a catastrophic event with the bluegill even though you're not seeing fish at this time. It may be that you're just seeing largemouth because their body mass led them to be floaters. Actually you may be better off if you lost a lot of the bluegill. They'll recover quickly. The fish you're seeing is certainly consistant with your initial observation of this being a "stunted bluegill pond". The bass that were dominating, like those twenty-inchers were feasting all the time, and the bluegill were probably present in the tens of thousands as smaller individuals. In my opinion, not a very good setup for overall fishing success. You'll be able to do it better! __________________ ...and BOOM goes the dynamite.